Life on the Back of a Turtle Exhibition Brochure

LIFE ON THE BACK OF A TURTLE: Woodlands and Plains Indigenous Art

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On behalf of the Woodstock Art Gallery, the Curator and the Collectors, the following people and organizations are to be acknowledged for their assistance in the mounting of this exhibition: Teresa Altiman Walpole Island First Nation, Ontario Rick Beaver, Alderville First Nation, Ontario Jackie Bugera, Bearclaw Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta Phillip Gevik, Gallery Gevik, Toronto, Ontario Melanie Robinson Gary Scherbain, Wah-sa Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba and all the artists for their approval to reproduce their works in this publication.

The Woodstock Art Gallery wishes to sincerely thank the private collectors and Guest Curator, Maxine Noel, for sharing their passion, knowledge, hard work, generous spirit and personal collections for visitors to enjoy, learn from and become inspired.

Exhibition run February 16, 2019 to January 25, 2020 Curator Maxine Noel, C.M. Curatorial and Collections Intern Adam Whitford, MA Designer Kristina Nordstrom Š Woodstock Art Gallery, writers, and artists, 2019

The Woodstock Art Gallery is situated on traditional territories of the Indigenous Peoples covered by the Upper Canada Treaties.

We would like to acknowledge the history of the traditional territory on which the Woodstock Art Gallery stands. We would also like to respect the longstanding relationships of the local Indigenous groups of this land and place in Southwestern Ontario.

“My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.�

Louis Riel, 1885

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THE POWER OF SPEECH: an interview with curator Maxine Noel The following interview was conducted on September 11th, 2018 at the Woodstock Art Gallery between Adam Whitford, MA, Curatorial and Collections Intern and Maxine Noel, Curator of Life on the Back of a Turtle.

Adam Whitford: Thank you for coming

art in many different mediums: stone

to speak with me Maxine. Before talking

lithography,

about the exhibition, could you introduce

clothing design, set design and costume

yourself and your practice as an artist?

design. I love designing things.

Maxine Noel: My given name is Maxine

AW: And what attracted you to curating

Noel and I do have a Native name which

this show?

silkscreen,

etchings,

was given to me when I was two years old, Ioyan Mani which means “to walk

MN: It was actually the collection. [The

beyond.” I’m Wolf Clan (Sioux) and I

donors] have an incredible collection

can never remember a time that I didn’t

of work and they now own a piece from

draw. I didn’t go into the art world until

every artist of the Native Group of Seven

my very first show in Toronto in 1980

and I have been fortunate in knowing a

and I was not sure what was going to

lot of these artists.

happen, not ever having studied art. I currently use my artwork to help support

AW: You have had many personal

different causes and I have produced

relationships with the artists in the

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show. Is there one artist or story that still

MN: He was just a very bubbly, alive man.

stands out to you?

He had his own problems unfortunately which were the cause of his death. His

MN: Oh my gosh, I have many of them.

health was not well, he was not a well

I would actually like to speak about my

man. He died much too soon.

friendship with Jackson Beardy who was from the Winnipeg area and is of

AW: So after meeting the collectors

Cree background. He spent a lot of time

and seeing all the works, what was

with my people, the Sioux, and was very

your approach to creating an exhibition

knowledgeable about my people. I had

from all these different artists who are

the opportunity to get to know him at a

all from different cultures with different

huge Native art show and eventually we

visual styles?

became friends. He was living in Ottawa at the time and I lived in the Ottawa

MN: Well, like when I came to speak to

Valley and I got to get to know Jackson

a group of retired business people [in

very well. I always appreciated how the

Woodstock], I would say that the majority

Group of Seven opened the door for the

of people had never heard a native

rest of us, especially Jackson, he was a

person speak. So I think that this is an

character [laughs].

introduction to the City of Woodstock. My whole point in my life, what I do, and what

AW: How was he a character? What was

I live by, is that we all have to get along.

his personality like?

Let’s find out about each other. So I do

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speaking engagements all over South-

MN: Oh totally, and I think that came

Western Ontario because of that. I want

across when I spoke [in Woodstock] to

people to know that we are really OK.

a large degree. We are all the same.

People have a lot of misconceptions

AW: So like an introduction or a

about us, they think we don’t pay taxes

handshake almost?

but I’m always fighting with my income 6

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tax [laughs]. We get very few breaks. We

you see the illustrations of this story,

all have the same health insurance, I

you understand how far back they would

still pay rent, I pay all my bills and a lot

have had to go to understand that, you

of people aren’t aware of that. We do

know? It’s like in Key West, there are all

get a few breaks, a few dollars off on our

of these little islands created by sand

gas if you buy it on a reserve but we’re

being pushed up against these trees

not much different than anybody else.

and I always thought that was what Turtle Island was like.

AW: I also wanted to ask you about the title of the exhibition, Life on the Back

AW: In the exhibition, most people will

of a Turtle which recalls the creation

be familiar with Norval Morrisseau

story important to the Anishinaabe and

but they may be less familiar with the

Haudenosaunee peoples. What is your

Anishinaabe oral histories that he

relationship to that story?

painted. So if someone doesn’t know those histories, how would you advise

MN: I actually always found that to be

them to approach his paintings?

an incredible story. My people are from central North America and our [creation]

MN: God bless Norval. I knew Norval as

story is really not of Turtle Island but

well, but not in social settings. Back to

I’ve always claimed it as ours as well.

the old, tired story of boarding schools

There was a time I believe that all the

and taking the Native out of the Native.

continents were connected and when

A lot of reserves had forgotten their old

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ways. I’ve seen reserves that have gone

that knowledge. In fact, that knowledge

and finally had a Pow-wow after years

should have been spread out amongst

and years. To me, Norval brought all that

everybody and he was a brave enough

back. His work taught a lot of people

man to do it. Yes he was criticized but he

the histories that they had forgotten. So

was a brave man. Those teachings have

I admire a lot of what the whole Group

to go out.

of Seven did. They gave courage to a lot of Native people to speak about their

This is another thing I find interesting,

histories.

that scientists are now paying attention to Native legends because they are

AW: Morrisseau was also famously

actually based on fact. Though they

criticized and celebrated for recording

are painted as being almost magical

Anishinaabe oral legends in paint. How

or mystical, they are actually based

do you perceive a term like “legends

on reality. Now they’re checking some

painting” today?

lake in the Yukon where someone paid attention to a legend and realized it was

MN: I found that our own people were

fact.

a bit remiss [in criticizing Morrisseau].

They didn’t interpret the teachings that

AW: That’s what I was trying to get at with

they should have in that, yes, we were

the idea of legends, that they are not

the caretakers of a lot of knowledge,

necessarily just something of the past but

but they were almost a little selfish with

something that is still very much alive.

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MN: Oh totally, it’s based on reality.

AW: How important was it to show artworks that had a variety of subject

AW: Visitors might also be tempted to

matter, not just legends painting but to

classify the whole exhibition as one

show people working or playing?

by “Woodlands School” artists that includes artists like Morrisseau or Carl

MN: Which is what we all do. To me it

Ray. What does the term “Woodlands

is another way of trying to show people

School” mean to you?

that we are all the same. What I work on in my paintings are the parallels

MN: It actually means exactly those

amongst all cultures of the world. We

guys because the art across Canada

have families, we have children, we feel

is all quite different. But [Morrisseau]

love, we play and we work like everyone

was actually an inspiration to many

else. To a large degree I think that’s

other Ojibway artists so you have a lot

where I’ve had success in that people

of people who are very much inspired

find themselves in a lot of my work.

by him and his work. Woodlands art is for sure Ojibway and a large majority of

Interestingly

enough,

because

all

Native art is Ojibway.

these boarding schools were run by churches, we were taught that we were idol worshippers because we respected nature, the sun, the moon and the water.

But as I continue on with my career, I 12

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have had letters from priests, monks

it’s Wakan Tonka which means “the

and nuns who have all related to my

Big Holy.” I was angry going to a school

paintings. To me, it’s like we all believe

where I was told that what I believed was

the same thing but we just give the Great

not correct. But I was very stubborn and I

Mysterious different names. In my case

hung on to what I believed in.

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AW: Well that’s good, for everyone’s sake.

In a lot of ways I feel that Native art, if I could call it that, is trying to help

MN: Oh yes, it’s actually how I survived

save nature. We celebrate nature and

boarding school. But a lot of people

try and convince everybody else that

were not as tough as I was.

they should too. At the minute, I’m using the royalties from my own work

AW: Many of the works feature wildlife

to help different causes, one being the

and landscapes. Even the artist Rick

missing women and another one is an

Beaver is also a biologist. How do you

organization called Dignitas that has

see these works relating to current

to do with Indigenous people’s health. I

ecological issues faced by Indigenous

don’t know what everyone else is doing

communities?

but I’m using my work to help make change.

MN: We are trying to use [art] to wake people up. This is why I said that we have

AW: You’re literally putting your money

to start making an effort to understand

where your mouth is.

each other and get along because it doesn’t matter how much we fight

MN: I am. Actually the one image for

amongst each other, our environment

the missing women has created an

is a mess. A lot of the water that runs

incredible reaction. I donate all the

through reserves is contaminated and

royalties from it and it’s at a point where

things have to be straightened out.

the royalties average eight to nine 14

thousand dollars every three months. To

AW: That seems to be the theme running

a large degree, I paint to make the world

through everything you’ve been saying.

a better place.

MN: It is to me, we’re no different than AW: That leads in to my last question about the political issues that artists like Carl Beam and Ena Greyeyes deal with like residential schools and Indigenous children being moved into foster care.

MN: I find that it’s time for us to move

forward

together.

There

are

now grandchildren who are painting about residential schools that their grandmother went through. But for me, I love Carl. The reason I stayed in art was because of Carl Beam. At the time when Carl was around and he was painting what I call his protest paintings, it was necessary but let’s all get along, that’s what I always preach.

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anyone else.

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FROM THE COLLECTORS The artworks featured in Life on the

artists. There was also a deliberate

Back of a Turtle were collected over

choice to purchase pieces created by

the past thirty years by a local couple

women, respecting the matriarchal values

who appreciate the natural and cultural

of many Indigenous societies. Of many,

histories of Southern Ontario. When

one book in particular, Beth Southcott’s,

purchasing artworks for their home, they

The Sound of the Drum: The Sacred Art

chose works by Indigenous peoples.

of the Anishnabec, provided inspiration

They acquired works created since

and guidance towards assembling the

the 1960s by artists of Anishinaabe,

collection. Works were purchased mainly

Haudenosaunee,

from galleries, some were gifts, others

Plains

and

Métis

descent.

were acquired directly from the artists at pow wows, their homes or when the

The owners collected art that depicts all

artists visited the collectors’ home.

aspects of life common to any cultural group: work, play, religion, legends,

The collectors are delighted to make their

relationships,

issues,

personal collection a promised bequest

were

to the Woodstock Art Gallery’s permanent

particular in purchasing original works

collection for future generations to share

of art in a wide range of media and

in their passion and deep respect of the

styles. The works acquired were both by

power of contemporary Indigenous art.

politics

and

environmental aesthetics.

They

prominent as well as by up-and-coming 17

MAXINE NOEL’S BIOGRAPHY Maxine Noel is an internationally recognized Canadian First Nations artist, with a career spanning more than 35 years.

Born on the Birdtail Reservation in Manitoba, she and her daughter currently live in Stratford. She believes that there is a common bond that links all cultures of the world and she works tirelessly to bridge the gap between Native and non-Native communities.

She was one of the first artists to work with the Canada and Africa Village Twinning Programs, and is a founding Board Member of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation [now IndSpire].

In September 2016 First Nations leaders and federal cabinet ministers honoured Maxine’s artistry and contributions to raising public awareness of the Canadian crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls with her painting, Not Forgotten, which hangs in the Canadian Museum of History. In 2017 Maxine lent her support to Dignitas International’s Indigenous Health Partners Program to help improve diabetes care in remote and underserviced First Nations communities in Canada. Currently Maxine, along with other First Nations artists, is working with Artists Against Racism on their EAGLES RISING project to raise awareness of racism targeting indigenous peoples in Canada.

In 2018 the City of Stratford recognized Maxine’s contributions with a Bronze Star plaque, to be placed on Ontario Street.

In 2018, Maxine was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

Maxine signs her work with her Sioux name, Ioyan Mani, a name given her by her grandmother. It means “Walks Beyond”.

ILLUSTRATED WORKS All works are a promised bequest to the Woodstock Art Gallery from the ABLL collection.

Dimensions are listed height x width.

Photo credit: Robert McNair.

Cover Image Alex Janvier, Saskatchewan Lily, c. 1977, Acrylic on canvas, 91 x 74 cm.

1. Maxine Noel, Shawl Dancer, 1990, Gouache on paper, 40 x 24 cm.

2. Jackson Beardy, Thumbing Birds, 1978, Serigraph on paper, 37 x 37 cm.

3. Teresa Altiman, A Rattle Speaks, c. 1986, Serigraph on paper, 15 x 23 cm.

4. Blake Debassige, Twin Towers, 1993, Acrylic on canvas, 76 x 61 cm.

5. Daphne Odjig, An Eternal Vision, c. 1985, Acrylic on canvas, 71 x 66 cm.

6. Michael Robinson, Last Prayer to the World, c. 2008, Ink and watercolour on paper, 53 x 42 cm.

7. Carl Ray, Power of Speech, 1975, Acrylic on paper, 52 x 74 cm.

8. Carl Beam, Sitting Bull, c. 1990, Ink, graphite, and photograph on paper, 20 x 15 cm.

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